Aug 8, 2018

Jerry O'Connell says Kelly Ripa prepped him for talk-show career

Carter and Sliders actor Jerry O'Connell is crediting Live! star Kelly
Ripa with guiding him towards a second career as a talk-show host.
O'Connell said Ripa first invited him years ago to fill in for Regis
Philbin, who was on medical leave, and they got along so well she asked
him back many times after that as her regular co-stars -- Philbin, then
Michael Strahan -- came and went.

"I had known her a little bit, ironically, through Andy Cohen, through
Mr. Bravo himself. She said: 'Hey, come on the show. We need some
co-hosts while Regis is on leave.' I went in a bunch of times,"
O'Connell told UPI in a recent teleconference with reporters. "It was
just like blind luck that I did it and I really enjoyed it."

He said Ripa was fun to work with and generously showed him the ropes.

"She's just such a natural and just so amazing at bringing the best out
of anyone she's on screen with or anyone she's with, period. It was
really Kelly Ripa that sort of got me into it," O'Connell said, adding
that before his appearances on Live! he never considered he might be
successful in this corner of the entertainment industry.
"I thought I'd just go on auditions and get acting jobs, and it was
really Kelly Ripa that really not only first asked me to do it, but then
encouraged me to keep doing it," he added.

The Stand By Me alum is now the lead in WGN America's cop comedy Carter,
which debuted Tuesday, and has already begun work on Bravo's upcoming
chat program Real Men Watch Bravo.

"While I act in a scripted show like Carter -- and I love doing it and I
have a good time there -- man, it's going to be also another passion of
mine to talk about what's going on with the Real Housewives of Orange
County because, man, that's like my hard news."
The show will feature O'Connell and various celebrity guests chewing
over the trending topics from recent episodes of the cable network's
reality shows.

"I watch every Housewives show. I go deep. I go below deck. I watch
Shahs of Sunset. I'm just a huge fan and we're going to have so much fun
doing a show talking about it," he said.https://www.geezgo.com/sps/34055